I’m blogging from personal experience with this particular ministry. My husband and I have been involved in youth ministry since 1989 and were actually youth pastors from 1996 through 2006. Extremely rewarding. Teenagers are awesome, but we are glad to be in a different chapter of life right now

As a matter of fact, my husband has just started a daily devotional that he sends out Monday through Friday via email. If you can overlook a typo here and there, and a little grammatical incorrectness and would like to be on his mailing list, just let me know. There is no solicitation for money. He just loves ministering to people.

I found this article on BattleCry at OneNewsNow. So, if you have teenagers, listen up!

Allie Martin OneNewsNow.comApril 18, 2007

The founder of Teen Mania Ministries says more teenagers are ready to take an offensive stand in the culture war. This past weekend, more than 30,000 teenagers attended a “BattleCry” event at Ford Field in Detroit, where they were encouraged first to make sure they have a relationship with Christ, then to give up their love for the world and focus on Jesus.

Ron Luce is founder of Teen Mania Ministries, which sponsors these evangelical stadium events that give teenagers the opportunity to accept Christ as Savior, and then commit to live out their faith on a daily basis.

Luce says parents should make a lasting investment in the lives of their teens by getting them to a BattleCry gathering. “A lot of parents are like, ‘I’m frustrated with my kids, I don’t know what to do to get through to them, I don’t know how to help them.’” And when their young people have real problems, he adds, many of these parents say they end up paying a lot of money for a psychologist or the like.

But the Teen Mania Ministries spokesman believes the kind of spiritual help offered at a BattleCry event can be just the kind of life-changing experience teens need. He says tens of thousands of teenagers have already been impacted through the events.

“Wouldn’t it be worth loading up your kids in your car, maybe getting some of their friends and going to an event that could absolutely transform their life?” Luce asks. “They’d see five, ten, twenty thousand of their peers worshipping God and hearing the Word of God preached,” he notes; “and, sure, it’s a little sacrifice for you, but a little sacrifice could end up being a miraculous encounter for your own kids.”

The final BattleCry event for this year takes place next month in Virginia. Luce says Christian teenagers must be encouraged and taught to break free from the lure of popular culture, which is what these dynamic, youth-targeted stadium ministry events are all about.

Our daughter has gone on 2 short term mission trips with Teen Mania Ministries, and we’ve also sent at least a dozen other teenagers in our youth groups on short term trips with them. They are extremely reputable, and they really do impact the lives of youth throughout the nation. We have probably attended 10 Acquire the Fire youth rallies. Good times:)

UPDATE: Per Velvet’s request:

This is our small group waiting to get in the doors (2004)

Below is Ted with our friend Josh McDowell

Ron Luce:

And, how about a baby picture of Harley just to round things off: